Clamp



Oct. 30, 1956 R. c. HOY EIAL 2,768,418

CLAMP Filed May 6, 1955 s Sheets-Sheet i .Oct. 30, 1956 R. c. HOY ETAL2,768,418

- CLAMP Filed May 6, 1955 s Shets-Sheet 2 Oct. 30, 1956 R. c. HOY ETAL2,768,418

/ CLAMP Filed May e, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS 192464 5? 6 Br:Q/fi-r r4. lfi efz nited States Patent CLAMP Ralph C. Hoy, Attleboro,and Walter A. Rietz, North Attleboro, Mass, assignors to Augat Bros.,Inc., Attleboro, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 6,1955, Serial No. 506,529

10 Claims. (Cl. 24-270) This invention relates to clamps and inparticular to the kind of clamp which is in strap form and has anover-center locking lever provided with a safety catch for pullingtogether, and locking, the ends of the strap.

There are several forms of the specified kind of clamps, both those withsafety catches and those without. The disadvantage of the latter is thatthey may accidentally open. In the existing safety-catch type, thedesign is in many cases expensive to make because of a multiplicity ofparts, and in other cases the safety catch is difficult to operate.

It is the general purpose of this invention, therefore, to provide aclamp of strap form having an over-centering lever to tighten the clampand which is equipped with an easily and cheaply made safety catch, thelatter being easily operated, and yet fool-proof against accidentalopening, with a tension member connecting the lever and the rest of theclamp. v

Among the several objects of the invention, therefore, may be noted theprovision of a clamp having acombined tightening and locking leverthereon which is economical to make, simple to operate, and has aminimum of moving parts; the provision of a clamp of the above class inwhich the lever is provided with a positively operating, easilyoperated, safety catch; the provision of a lever-tightening clamp havinga tension member between the lever and the rest of the clamp; theprovision of a clamp of the last named class having a safety catch whichis made as an integral part of the tension membertherefore leading toeconomy of manufacture; the provision of a lever and safety catchstructure for a clamp in which the safety catch is relatively free fromaccidental opening yet may be opened easily by deliberate action on thepart of the user; and the provision of clamps of the aforementionedtypes in which additional spring means is incorporated in the clamp fortensioning purposes. advantages will be in part obvious and in partpointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the elements and combinations ofelements, features of construction, arrangement and manipulation ofparts which will be exemplified in the structures hereinafter described,and the scope of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which the invention is illustrated:

Fig. l is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, thelocking lever being closed;

Fig. 2 is a side View of the Fig. 1 embodiment, showing by means of fulland dotted lines, respectively, the lever in closed and open position;

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the Fig. 1 embodiment, given to show ingreater detail certain features of the safety catch;

Fig. 4 is a cross-section of 'a portion'of the Fig. '1 embodiment takenin the direction of sight lines 4-4 on Fig. 3;

1 Fig. 5 is a view (similar to Fig. 3) of a portion-ofthe Other objectsandice clamp and lever, to show how the safety catch may be released;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view of a portion of still another embodiment,similar to Fig. 6, but different in certain details as shown; and

Figs. 8 and 9 are perspective and cross-sectional views, respectively,of a fragmentary portion of still another embodiment, Figure 8 showingthe locking lever in opened position, and Figure 9 showing the lockinglever in closed position.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout thedrawings.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a clamp in the form of aband or strap 2 made of, for example, steel or brass. One end 4 of theband is turned over as shown to receive the pintle 6 of the tensionmember indicated generally by numeral 8, this tension member being madeof steel or hard drawn brass wire, for example, and being somewhatU-shaped. Member 8 has the two elongated members or legs 10 and 12 asshown. Legs 10 and 12 are made bowed (see Fig. 3) in order to giveresilience to the clamp as will be explained below.

The other end 14 of the band is turned over as shown to receive the pin16, the latter being anchored near one end of lever 18. Lever 18 isstamped or formed from a single piece of metal and has the top plate 20and the side flanges 22 and 24. Pin 16 is riveted in place between theside flanges in customary manner, and the fit of end 14 on pin 16 isloose enough to permit the lever to rotate catch arm 34 which liesbetween the aforesaid flanges.

Lever 18 is provided'with a detent, in this instance being the endflange 36 which is cutaway, as shown, to form the hook-shaped slot 38and the actual safety catch hook or detent 49. When the lever is in theclosed position shown,

. the end of safety catch arm 34 rests in' the detent 40.

This is clearly shown in the elevation of Fig. 3, and it is seen thatthis holds the lever down in line with the tension member 8.

When the clamp encircles an object and the lever 18 is pushed down, thesafety catch arm 34 will snap into the detent 40. The tension in theclamp will now tend to pull the normally bowed legs 10 and 12 straight,and such pulling will exert a force tending to move the arm 34 towardwall 22, and hence holding the arm in the detent. Thus the lever 18cannot be lifted upward to release the tension in the band. lever, it isfirst necessary to lift or slide the safety arm 34 away from wall 22 andthus off the detent 40. To this end, a slot 42 is provided in flange 22,as shown, and it is to be noticed that slot 42 is placed diagonally inthe flange. Because of this, its direction crosses the direc tion of thearm 34, and a piece of flat metal 44 (for example, the blade of a screwdriver) will strike the arm 34 to push it, when inserted in slot 42.This operation is illustrated in Fig. 5, wherein the arm 34 is shown partially released. Upon complete release of the safety catch arm, thelever 18 will move to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, thusreleasing the tension member 8 and loosening the clamp for removal.

It will be observed that the placing of the holes 26 and 28 ahead ofthevpintle 16 will enable the clamp to In order to open the be placedloosely on its object, and then tightened by snapping the lever down tothe closed position. The bowed shape of legs 10 and 12 enables themember 8 to act as a tension member, these legs straightening under thepull of lever 18, the resiliency of tension member 8 gives resiliency tothe clamping action, and also enables the clamp to fit articles that maydiffer somewhat in size. It is obvious that the lever 18 may be verycheaply made on automatic stamping presses, and that the tension member8 can likewise be cheaply made. Assembly is simple, since in the entireclamp there are only three parts, viz, the band 2, the tension member 8,and the lever 18. As indicated, the parts can be made out of metal, suchas steel or its alloys, or brass; or, with slight modifications entirelywithin the scope of the invention, out of molded plastics. For example,band 2 and lever 18 could be of plastic while member 3 could he springwire.

Turning now to Fig. 6 for a second embodiment of the invention, it isthere seen that the embodiment is the same as that shown in Figs. l5,except that in this instance, spring means 50 are provided in the band.Three such spring means have been shown by way of example, but it isobvious that only one may be used if desired, or two, or more thanthree. In each instance, the spring means comprises a loop of materialbeing bent out of the band material itself. Here, only half'circles (incross section) have been shown, but if desired the loops may beshallower or deeper, that is, for example, one quarter circle incross-section, or three-quarters of a circle in cross-section.

It may be found desirable to stiffen one or more of said loops 50, andin Fig. 7 is shown one way of doing this. The U-shaped members 52 ofsheet metal (for example) are provided with the legs 54 and 56. Theselegs spraddle the loop 50 as shown and are welded or riveted firmly inplace, as at the places 58, welding being preferred. The tab 60 of themember may, if desired, be used as a mounting means for holding theclamp to a support, etc. In action, it will be found that the legs ofthe member 52 will give or spring slightly when they are pulled awayfrom each other. This stiff resiliency of each member 52 is imparted tothe loop 50 in each instance, thus making more controlled the amount ofresilience of the clamp as a whole.

Referring now to Figs. 8 and 9, there is shown still another embodiment.In this instance, means have been provided for positively causing thesafety catch arm 34 to engage its detent in the event the clamp is usedaround something which is of such a diameter as not to tension the clampvery much. In such a case, it may be found that the catch 34 may notsnap into its detent automatically.

Therefore, to insure that it does so, a raised projection is provided onthe band to strike the catch arm and force it into place. In theembodiment shown, this projection is made as a loop 62 in the band, thisbeing positioned in respect to the lever 18 and catch arm 34 as shown.When the lever is closed, loop 62 will strike the catch arm 34, andforce it up and into its detent, as shown in Fig. 9. It is to be noted,therefore, that the loop 62 can be one of the spring means or loops 50described for the previous embodiment, and this is the preferredconstruction.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of theinvention are achieved, and other advantageous results obtained.

As many changes could be made in the above construction withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings, shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

We claim:

1. A clamp comprising a flexible band, a lever, and a catch memberconnecting the band and the lever; said lever comprising a top platehaving side flanges, and a detent at one end; means fastening said bandby one end thereof to said lever at the end thereof remote from saiddetent; said catch member comprising a pair of elongated membersfastened'in substantially parallel relationship by one end of each tothe other end of said band; one of said members being longer than theother; the other end of the shorter of the said elongated members beingrotatably fastened to one of said flanges between the ends of saidlever; the longer of said elongated members being bent inwardly to passthrough a pivot hole in the other flange opposite the point ofattachment of said shorter member, said longer member being again benttoward said detent to lie along said lever between said flanges, andbeing adapted to engage said detent.

2. A clamp comprising a flexible band, a lever, and a combined catch andtension member connecting the band and lever; said lever comprising atop plate having side flanges and an end flange at at least one end,said end flange being provided with a detent; said band having one endfastened to the other end of said lever; said tension member comprisinga pair of bowed elongated members of resilient material having one endof each attached to the other end of said band; a first other end of oneof said resilient members being rotatably fastened to one of said sideflanges at a point between the ends of the lever; a second other end ofthe other of said resilient members being bent inwardly and passingthrough a pivot hole in the other of said side flanges at a placeopposite the place where said first other end is attached and extendinglengthwise along said lever between said side flanges, said second otherend being adapted to engage said detent; and means for releasing saidsecond other end from said detent.

3. A clamp comprising a flexible band, a lever; and a combined catch andtension member connecting the band and lever; said lever comprising atop plate having side flanges and an end flange at least one end, saidend flange being provided with a detent therein; said band having oneend rotatably fastened to the other end of said lever; said tensionmember comprising a pair of bowed elongated members of resilientmaterial having one end of each rotatably attached to the other end ofsaid band; a first other end of one of said resilient members beingrotatably fastened to one of said side flanges at a point between theends of the lever; a second end of the other of said resilient membersbeing bent inwardly and passing through a pivot hole in the other ofsaid side flanges at a place opposite the place where said first otherend is attached and extending lengthwise along said lever between saidside flanges, said second other end being adapted to engage said detent;at least one of said side flanges being provided with a slottherethrough at the end of the flange nearest said end flange, said slotbeing inclined at an angle to the length of said second end near saiddetent.

4. A clamp comprising a flexible band, a lever, and a combined catch andtension member connecting the band and lever; said lever comprising atop plate having side flanges and an end flange at at least one end,said end flange being provided with a recess therein forming a detent;said band having one end rotatably fastened to the other end of saidlever; said tension member comprising U-shaped member of spring wirehaving two legs joined by a bend; said bend being rotatably attached tothe other end of said band; one of said legs being rotatably fastened byits end to one of said side flanges at a point between the ends of thelever; the other of said legs being bent inwardly and passing through apivot hole in the other of said side flanges at a place opposite theplace where the other leg is attached and extending lengthwise alongsaid lever between said side flanges, the end of said other leg beingadapted to engage said detent; and means for releasing said last namedend from said detent.

5. A clamp comprising a flexible band, a lever, and a combined catch andtension member connecting the band and the lever; said lever Comprisinga top plate having edge portions folded at right angles thereto to formdependent side flanges and an end flange at at least one end, said endflange being provided with a hook-shaped slot therein to form a detent;a pintle extending across said lever at the other end thereof betweensaid side flanges, with one end of said band rotatably folded aroundsaid pintle to fasten the band to the lever; said tension membercomprising a U-shaped member of spring wire having a short leg, at longleg, and a bend connecting said legs, each of said legs being bowed,with the other end of said band rotatably folded around said bend tofasten the band to said tension member; the end of said short leg beingbent at an angle to the leg and being inserted in a first pivot holeprovided in one side flange between the ends of said lever; the long legof said tension member being also bent at an angle to the leg at a pointintermediate its length and being inserted in a second pivot hole in theother side flange opposite said first pivot hole, said lever beingthereby rotatably fastened to said tension member; said other leg beingagain bent so as to lie inside said lever between said side flanges, andbeing adapted to engage said detent; and means, comprising a slot in oneof said flanges, for disengaging said other leg from said detent.

6. A clamp comprising a flexible band, a lever, a combined catch andtension member connecting the band and lever, and spring means in saidband and stretchable lengthwise of the band; said lever comprising a topplate having side flanges and an end flange at at least one end, saidend flange being provided with a detent; said band having one endfastened to the other end of said lever; said tension member comprisinga pair of bowed elongated members of resilient material having one endof each attached to the other end of said band; a first other end of oneof said resilient members being rotatably fastened to one of said sideflanges at a point between the ends of the lever; a second other end ofthe other of said resilient members being bent inwardly and passingthrough a pivot hole in the other of said side flanges at a placeopposite the place where said first other end is attached and extendinglengthwise along said lever between said side flanges, said second otherend being adapted to engage said detent.

7. The clamp of claim 6 in which said spring means comprises one or moreloops of the material of said band bent outwardly of the plane thereofwhere said loop is formed.

8. The clamp of claim 6 in which said spring means comprises one or moreU-shaped loops of the material of said band bent outwardly of the planethereof where said loop isformed and extending across the entire widthof the band.

9. The clamp of claim 6 in which said spring means comprises one or morecurved loops of the material of said band bent outwardly of the planethereof, and at least one U-shaped member lying substantially in theplane of said band where a loop occurs and having its legs straddling aloop and fastened to said band.

10. A clamp comprising a flexible band, a lever, and a combined catchand tension member connecting the hand and lever; said lever comprisinga top plate having side flanges and an end flange at at least one end,said end flange being provided with a recess therein forming a detent;said band having one end rotatably fastened to the other end of saidlever; said tension member comprising a U-shaped member of spring-wirehaving two legs joined by a bend; said bend being rotatably attached tothe other end of said band; one of said legs being rotatably fastened byits end to one of said side flange-s at a point between the ends of thelever; the other of said legs being bent inwardly and passing through apivot hole in the other of said side flanges at a place opposite theplace where the other leg is attached and extending lengthwise alongsaid lever between said side flanges, the other end of said other legbeing adapted to engage said detent; a projection on said bandpositioned to strike said other end when said lever is pushed toward theband thereby to force said other end into said detent; and means forreleasing said last named end from said detent.

No references cited.

